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f/u Salary Negotiations
Well, yesterday I met with the CEO, CFO, COO and VP and it went GREAT. At the end of the interview with the CEO & COO, the COO told me she was looking forward to working with me. The CEO told me he wasn't interviewing me- he just wanted me to think about a few things and to ask me to think about whether this is a good move for me- moving from government to private and a bit of insight into the private industry. He said that he is excited about me coming to work with them- but he wants me to be sure it is a good move for me. CEO was great- she and COO asked a lot of questions and seemed happy with my responses. VP (2nd interview) basically asked if I had any questions, and asked me to send him an email with my salary / benefit requests. SO still no resolution, but it seems like I have the job as long as the price is right.
Now I have to figure out how much I think I'm worth versus how much I think they will pay me.
Right now I make $65k. I have my MBA and this job would actually use my MBA knowledge. I will be moving from public to private sector, so I have to consider the change in pension contributions (they offer 401k but no matching)- so I have to work that in. I also learned from someone I know who works there, that the other person I'd be "on par" with (but different duties- I'd be Project Manager and she is the Inventory ordering/forecasting specialist) makes about $82k. She has been working there for 6 years so of course she'd be making more, BUT she has no degree, and can't really keep up with business the way it is right now.
So here are my thoughts- any input welcomed.
Current Job:
*Salary = $65k with contract negotiated 12% over the next 3 years
*3 weeks vacation, 2 weeks sick leave, 11 paid holidays / year
*Government makes Pension contributions
*Good Medical / Dental / Vision
*Security of working in the public sector
*9 years experience
*Commute = 80 miles / day
New Job:
*According to salary.com - median pay is $88k in my county- Plan is to ask for 80k (I think I'd be willing to go down to 70k if they pushed it, but I want to hope for a higher salary)
*Ask for 3 weeks vacation- their policy is 1 week for 1st year, but if they negotiate down the salary I will try to get compensation with leave
*Medical / Dental / Vision offered (but don't think I'd need it- H can take over medical- but then he'd lose the $140 / mo he gets for currently not taking benefits)
*401k offered but no matching- I'd have to up my contributions there to make up for the gov't sponsored pension
*Christmas Savings plan- this is kind of fun- you put $15/check into a special account, and at Christmas they give you back the money plus they match it- I love that idea
*Small business with people I know
*Limited experience, but knowledge base from my MBA has helped me already start to formulate a plan to develop the business.
*Commute is 25 miles per day (about $250/mo in savings at current fuel rates)
*I could always accept 70k, then negotiate in checkpoints where we re-negotiate based on my performance.
*I would like to ask for additional certification over time- such as Six-Sigma or Lean or Lean SS certification, so eventually I could teach at a local junior college with my degree, experience and certs.
Does this sound like an ok strategy?? I've never dealt with this before and I really don't want to scare them off with a high #, but I need to cover my butt by taking the risk to jump into the private sector.
TIA for reading!!
Re: f/u Salary Negotiations
Well, congrats on the progress so far! First off, I would not take the coworkers salary into account. People get hired in at higher salaries than present employees all. the. time. (I got hired into a large company for 65k a few years ago, a coworker got hired in 6 months after me with same exact experience/job title for $75k. It happens).
I would base your salary requirement more off the median pay for that position in your area. My take: "After learning more about the responsibilities this position entails and researching the typical compensation for this role in this area, I feel that $85k-$90k is a reasonable salary for this position." I think $70k is way too low. You are an experienced employee with an MBA in a HCOL part of the country. Don't sell yourself short!
As for offending them by asking for too much -- If they are already paying someone ~$82k, I would not worry about asking for $85k-$90k. You have local salary stats to back you up anyways. My husband applied to a start-up company straight out of grad school. Going rate for an engineer with a M.S. was ~$75-$80k at large companies. He asked for $75k and they came back "We really like you... we can't afford that much... would $65k be ok?" They were not offended at all.
Just act professional and see what they say
First congrats!
Second - Please realize that salary.com is VERY inaccurate. It is self reported data and any company with a decent HR department will not accept it as a good number. Does that company have an HR dept? I am not sure of the size of the company which can make a big difference on how in tune they are with HR issues and wages. The job should be assigned to a salary range based on the value of the job to the company and in the market. Are you working with a recruiter? They should be able to provide you with a salary scale (min-mid-max of the range). The mid-point is designed to reflect the companies compensation philosophy. A fully qualified candidate with 5ish yrs of experience is expected to come in somewhere near the mid-point...lower with less experience...or lower if that is there general practice.
Are you connected to people in your same industry and similar type of job? Maybe on Linkedin or through a professional org? You may be able to get an idea from them what to expect for pay.
Crazy- I thought I responded yesterday- thank you for giving me a lot to think about - Kit Kat- I definitely used your insight while writing my letter~!
Kristin- I actually ended up taking the median salaries of 6 different online companies and averaged that, giving them the reference to those different site for their review. I left out salary.com because it was really inconsistent when I re-searched for Project Manager.
They really don't have a HR dept- it is a mom&pop type of organization- and I actually know the person who runs their HR- I asked and they just smiled and told me to make an offer, lol.
I'm not working with a recruiter - it actually all just came about because someone who knows me works there and thought I'd be a valuable asset- so they recommended me, and they're creating a position just for me (or if it doesn't worok with me- for whoever they find to fill the gap).
I submitted something this morning- we'll see what happens! *Fingers crossed*